Chapter 9 - Grace Shares Her Quiet Struggles and Little Lily
Grace stared at the billionaire across the coffee table, a mixture of deep gratitude and protective caution in her eyes.
“You don't need to do that, Mr. Whitfield; I earn a fair wage for my work here,” Grace said softly.
“Grace, you kept this house running while my former fiancée was actively trying to sabotage your reputation,” Daniel reminded her.
“An education fund for Lily is the least I can do to make up for the way you were treated under my roof.”
Grace looked down at her hands, a small sigh escaping her lips as she thought about her four-year-old daughter.
“Lily draws you in that stick-figure skyscraper every time she gets a new box of crayons, you know,” Grace whispered.
“I know,” Daniel smiled warmly, remembering the framed drawing hanging proudly on his private office wall.
“She asks me every Friday if the big man who builds tall buildings is ever going to come visit her school play.”
Daniel felt a strange, unfamiliar tug at his chest—a sudden longing for something real, simple, and unpretentious.
“Tell her the big man would love an official invitation to her kindergarten graduation front row,” Daniel said instantly.
Grace looked up, meeting his gaze and seeing a sincerity that money could never buy or manufacture.
“You’d really go to a four-year-old’s community center graduation?” she asked, a hint of playful disbelief in her voice.
“Try and stop me,” Daniel replied, leaning back against the sofa cushions with a relaxed posture.
“I spend my life dealing with multibillion-dollar contractors; a room full of four-year-olds sounds like a welcome relief.”
Grace finally let out a genuine, beautiful laugh that transformed her tired face into something breathtakingly radiant.
For the first time in years, the grand mansion didn't feel like a cold museum built of stone and glass.
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It felt like a home waiting for people to actually live in it.
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